Changed By Time
by silver-moon-sapphire-sky
Summary: Oneshot, Rin x Sess. Years after she began following him the youkai lord is forced to realise what she means to him, even if she is human.


**The drought has broken!- No more writer's block, at least for now. Only I chose to try an Inuyasha fanfic, because I completely fell in love with the series.**

**I hope you enjoy the fanfic. I tried to keep the character's authentic, but I'm not sure if I succeeded, Sess is really difficult. **

**I also tried a different approach to my writing, because my comedic style wouldn't have suited this piece, so I don't know if it is any good. Please give me comments about whether or not this is an okay piece.**

**I also left a translation of the Japanese words I used at the end. **

**By the way, I Do Not Own Inuyasha, this fantastic series belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.**

Sesshomaru walked along, with the familiar pounding of Ah-Un's walk, Rin's light footsteps and Jaken's shuffling. It was another morning, just like any other. It had been ten years since Naraku had finally been destroyed, much to everyone's relief.

Unfortunately not only had Naraku taken all of his bushin to the grave with him, but he had also taken Kikyou (which had been quite a blow to Inuyasha) and Kohaku (which had upset all of Inuyasha's friends and Rin too). Sesshomaru had been a little sorry that Kagura had died, but there had been nothing he could do, not even with Tenseiga's power.

As for the Shikon no Tama, well Kagome, Inuyasha's mate, she still held it. They had no idea what to wish for, and so they merely protected it from those who decided that they wanted its power. Kagome had decided to live in this time, but she still visited her family.

Inuyasha and Miroku had both proposed to the onna that they loved and both onna had accepted. Sesshomaru had even heard that both onna had given birth to children. Apparently the Houshi's onna got pregnant almost as soon as she gave birth and was surrounded by children now, about seven or so. It seemed that Kagome was a little less fertile, or Inuyasha was less enthusiastic, because they only had two. They also had the little kitsune youkai to look after though, apparently after much consideration they had adopted him.

Meanwhile apparently that wolf youkai Kouga had given up on Kagome and chosen to mate with a childhood fiancé, called Ayame. They were very happy and had three cubs, according to rumor.

Sesshomaru quite liked knowing what was going on, and in his own way he was content just wandering aimlessly around. Inuyasha and Inuyasha's friends had all moved on, creating new lives and families, and they were very happy. But that was not for Sesshomaru, he was different; he could never be content just to settle down like that.

He watched his ward out of the corner of his eyes. She walked at a carefully calculated pace, it allowed her to be two steps behind him exactly. Ah-Un walked beside her, while Jaken, as her senior, walked one pace in front. She had changed a lot, unlike her youkai companions. Jaken had gained a few more wrinkles, and Sesshomaru had regrown his lost left arm, but Rin had become an adult.

Rin seemed as content to wander as Sesshomaru was, but he had to wonder why. Surely she wanted more than this. Didn't she want to settle down and have a family? Most ningen onna her age did. Was his ward different, or did she hide her desires well?

No, she had never lied to him. He mused further on his ward as he walked though.

Rin split her concentration between Sesshomaru-sama and her surroundings. Sesshomaru-sama was obviously more important, but she would give him no reason to see her as a graceless ningen. Tripping over a half visible tree root and other such clumsy ningen acts irritated him.

She would rather die than offend Sesshomaru-sama; he was the most important person in her world. A part of her feared that if she ever offended him, he would leave her in a ningen village and that she would never see him again. Not seeing him was an infinite punishment, even more so than forcing her to dwell amongst ningens.

To Rin it seemed that the man appeared from out of nowhere. Like the deepest shadows under the trees had suddenly collected together and formed him. His hair was a deep black, like hers, only it seemed to hold the faintest sheen of red. His eyes were golden, set in an eerily beautiful face, much like Sesshomaru-sama.

Actually, she looked at Sesshomaru-sama, comparing him to the stranger. They looked very alike, aside from the different colouring.

The symbol on the stranger's forehead was a star in a shade of deep violet, but the two slashes he bore on his cheeks were also crimson. The pointed ears held back his long hair, which like Sesshomaru-sama's was unbound. His golden eyes were highlighted with blue markings unlike Sesshomaru-sama's crimson marks.

He wore a midnight blue hakema and gi, with black and gold armor protecting his chest. Crimson and white sashes held two long swords at the man's waist, while a sheath tied tightly to the man's left arm held a dagger. He wore his black moko-moko wrapped around his right shoulder, like Sesshomaru-sama.

Unlike Sesshomaru-sama though, he was not composed and expressionless. He was clearly angry. He bared his fangs as he shouted, "Sesshomaru, what is the meaning of this?"

"Nori," Sesshomaru acknowledged, "what has angered you?" his cousin was normally even tempered, perhaps not as rational as Sesshomaru himself, but there were not many with the silver inu-youkai's self control. Nori though had blown up like Inuyasha, or another ill bred youkai would do in a temper. Sesshomaru watched his cousin scornfully, the small amount of respect he'd once had for the other youkai disappeared.

"Jaken-sama, who is this man who speaks to Sesshomaru-sama as an equal?" asked Rin quietly. All three youkai heard her clearly, despite her attempt to keep her question private.

"Nori-sama is Sesshomaru-sama's younger cousin. He is the son of Sesshomaru-sama's hahaue's brother, and ouji of the Inu-youkai tribes," Jaken answered quietly.

"Ouji of the Inu-youkai tribes?" Rin questioned.

"Hai, most youkai tribes have leaders. Sesshomaru-sama's hahaue was royalty, and she was to inherit the leadership, but after Sesshomaru-sama's chichiue chose to love a ningen hime and have a hanyou son, she and Sesshomaru-sama were disinherited and Nori-sama was chosen to be the next ruler," Jaken quietly explained.

"Sesshomaru, I thought you had escaped the taint of your chichiue, but then I heard about the companion you chose to travel with. A ningen onna. You betray our family, especially your hahaue to have such a one as your companion!" Nori's voice rose, his fangs showing even more, his eyes flashed red and his claws glowed a sickly shade of lavender.

He lunged for Rin, and probably would have killed her had not Sesshomaru intervened. Nori's claws stopped inches before they pierced Rin's skin. Sesshomaru was stronger than his little cousin and they both knew it. His hands gripped Nori's forearms, forcing the claws further away from Rin's throat.

"So, not only do you travel with a ningen, but you protect her from all others, even your own tribe. Do you have no shame?" Nori growled furiously.

Rin looked into Nori's angry eyes, the whites were now completely red, and the formerly golden pupils were black. The two crimson slashes on his cheek were no longer smooth, but jagged and they stood out on his pale face.

She was frightened by his speed and his strength. He would have killed her, of that she had no doubts, and she would not have been able to stop him. Perhaps she would have died without even seeing the face of her killer or knowing who it was.

Sesshomaru-sama's powerful arms continued to draw Nori-sama away from Rin. She was grateful, but Sesshomaru-sama's struggle with his cousin upset her. Just like his constant fighting with Inuyasha-sama upset her. She didn't care that Inuyasha-sama was a hanyou; he was still Sesshomaru-sama's brother. She, who had no family, hated to see them fighting each other. Yet Sesshomaru-sama always seemed to end up fighting his family, and he didn't appear to care either.

Sesshomaru-sama threw Nori-sama in the air, and the black inu youkai away through the forest. The crashing sounds Nori-sama made as he flew continued on for several minutes before a deathly hush settled over the normally noisy forest. Sesshomaru-sama ran into the forest in the direction his cousin had flown in, he was evidently prepared to continue the fight.

She could actually feel the burning warmth of tears at the back of her eyes. She hated seeing him fight anyone for her sake. Every battle he fought was a reminder that she was ningen and that she depended utterly on him, but could not aid him in any way. She felt the tears spill down her cheeks, and was ashamed of herself for Sesshomaru-sama's sake, but not for her own.

"Rin, are you hurt or something?" asked Jaken.

"No," the onna shook her head, wiping away the tears, only to have them replaced by more tears, "but Jaken-sama, has Sesshomaru-sama lost his family because of my presence?"

Jaken abruptly realised what had upset the ningen onna so much. She, who had no family, did not wish to be the cause of a split between any other person and their family, especially Sesshomaru-sama, who was her savior.

"It's okay Rin; this is not your fault. Sesshomaru-sama already had problems with Nori-sama and the others because of his chichiue's ningen onna and Inuyasha," Jaken comforted her and was relieved to see the tears stop flowing.

"Arigato Jaken-sama," she said and gave him a faint smile. It was at that moment he suddenly became aware of just how grown up she really was. She only just reached Sesshomaru's shoulder, average height for a ningen, but it wasn't just the different height, there were other changes to her dimensions. He'd seen ningen males eye her figure, which was very slender, but still curved in all the right places. Her hair was now even longer than Sesshomaru-sama's, reaching to the back of her knees, in a straight black wave. While her lightly tanned skin made her liquid black eyes stand out even more. She was beautiful, by both ningen and youkai standards.

"Ano, Jaken-sama, can I go wash my face in the stream over there?" Rin suddenly asked shyly. Breaking him out of his silent reflection.

Jaken looked over at the stream and measured the distance, "hai," he said. No harm could come to her while she was so close to him and Ah-Un. She quickly walked over to the stream, kneeling down and putting her hands in the water.

He remembered when he had first seen her, a skinny little child, dirty and covered in bruises. She'd been very shy initially, afraid to talk. She had quickly gotten past that shyness to turn into an irritatingly loud child.

She was still overly curious, and always got into trouble, and she never shut up, but she was kind and fairly respectful. It was the way she had changed physically that really made him realize how quickly time had passed, and how quickly it would continue going on.

He watched Rin while she hummed softly, while she washed the tears from her face and composed herself. The fact that she was ningen, and she would die far sooner than he or Sesshomaru would hit him anew all over again. Despite his efforts, she'd wormed her way into his heart, and to lose her, as he must, would really trouble him. She'd become the daughter, niece and granddaughter that he'd never had.

Sesshomaru wandered carefully around in the forest. Where had Nori gone? He had to finish this fight, now; he'd known that the minute it began. As much as he valued his family, by reviving Rin and letting her follow him he'd made an unspoken promise to protect her. He would keep that promise, honor demanded it.

He owed no loyalty to Nori, or anyone in his hahaue's family, not once they had disinherited him because of his chichiue's mistake. He was free to do as he wished, even if they were family.

His willingness to throw everything away so quickly to protect Rin still surprised him though. Protecting her had become important, and he did it automatically. Was it just because of her loyalty to him?

Or was it something more?

Those were the uneasy questions which Nori's presence seemed to raise within him.

He shrugged them off, for now nothing else mattered except finding Nori and defeating him. That would make it obvious that he was dominant and that Nori should have nothing to say about any part of his life, including Rin and could not touch her.

Something about that last thought blanked his mind for a minute and his claws seemed to ignite of their own accord. There was a burning smell and suddenly an entire tree had been burned away in a vicious burst of shouki. It took him a few seconds to understand that he'd done this, but why?

He wondered why the thought of Nori touching Rin bothered him so. Well actually now that he thought about it the thought of any one touching her bothered him, especially another male. It didn't bother him actually; it just made him really mad.

He drew his thoughts back on track, Nori, not Rin. Actually come to think of it he could smell Rin, and Nori, who it seemed, was very close to her.

Sesshomaru bolted, the only thing on his mind was a light hearted young onna who'd come to mean far too much to him.

Nori watched her, hating her. Lousy ningen, she had his cousin bewitched, just like the evil witch who'd stolen Inutaisho's heart and upset his aunt so.

She would die. Dying by his claws was a great honor for a ningen, but his swords could not be tainted by her dirty blood, so it would have to be the claws.

He shot out from the trees, claws stretched out.

She would die.

The toad which tried to prevent his attack was a minor inconvenience; he sent it flying into the river with a kick, before leaping at that ningen witch again. His eyes glowed a mad red. Nothing would stop her dying at his claws.

Rin saw Nori-sama leaping at her with death in his eyes. She knew he would kill her, there was no way she could stop him.

But Rin still had faith in the one person who had never let her down, "Sesshomaru-sama!" she shrieked, falling back away from the enraged youkai.

"He won't save you ningen wench, no one can," Nori-sama chuckled; his claws glowed with radiant lavender light as he raised them, he stood over her.

Rin lay on the ground staring up at him "Sesshomaru-sama" she whispered longingly.

Nori-sama's claws sped downwards towards her, she screamed, throwing her hands up in front of her face.

She felt nothing, but a sudden rush of wind and then a great warmth was suddenly wrapped around her body. She'd thought death would feel more like death. Actually, she'd already died once, and it had been cold and dark, this felt nothing like it. She still felt alive.

She opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself in Sesshomaru-sama's arms. His eyes were locked on something far away. She turned her head, and found that Nori-sama was glaring at them.

Kami, he looked even more angry than he had before. Why?

She looked back to Sesshomaru-sama; he looked down at her, before loosening his hold on her. He relaxed his hold on her waist, unlocking his arm from it's tight hold on the area just under her breasts. His other arm disappeared suddenly from under her knees and suddenly she was standing straight on the ground with his arms around her. He probably needed his arms free, but he made no move to take his arms away from their position around her.

She wondered why, but found herself more interested in the deep amber flecks in his golden eyes. He had thick black eyelashes around those beautiful eyes. The heat of his body seemed to have driven itself deep into her body. She found herself wanting to do things she had never thought of or done before and she didn't know why.

Sesshomaru noticed the way his ningen onna's eyes focused on his features and the way those eyes looked, like a pond reflecting the night sky. He shouldn't be paying her any attention of course; he should be looking at his cousin. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her though.

"Sesshomaru, how dare you interfere, that ningen should be dead!" Nori's shout brought the pairs attention back to him.

"Nori, I have had enough of this, Rin is mine, to harm her is to harm me," he gave the cousin his gaze, but Rin still held his attention.

Sesshomaru was beginning to wonder if killing his cousin was the best solution in this mess. But something in him still hoped to avoid this final solution.

Nori was persistent; killing him was the obviously sensible solution, it would get rid of him. The fact that Nori was family was irrelevant. Rin was Sesshomaru's ward, she was under his protection, and she was the most important being in his life. He was her protector; she was his reason for living.

As far as Sesshomaru was concerned the only bad thing about killing Nori was that the rest of the family would probably come to try and kill him and Rin. Sesshomaru didn't particularly care about his family, but he didn't really want to have to go through the effort of killing them all. If they came all together, even Sesshomaru might be killed, and then Rin would be dead.

"This is your last warning Nori," Sesshomaru said. He didn't really want to set this chain of events into motion, it was too risky.

"You would kill me, your cousin, over a ningen onna!" Nori was half incredulous, half angry.

Rin looked Sesshomaru directly in the eye, he answered without blinking and without hesitating "yes," looking directly into Nori's eyes.

Nori and Rin both gaped at him.

"She is really that important to you?" Nori couldn't believe his ears. She was ningen, and Sesshomaru hated ningens, there was something a little odd with this equation. It seemed that he didn't know he cousin as well as he'd thought.

"She is mine. Now will you quit with this nonsense," Sesshomaru demanded. He was impatient, and it was just so tempting to kill Nori and end this whole thing right now, then Rin would be perfectly safe for a little while.

Nori looked at the pair, it just couldn't be. Sesshomaru couldn't choose her over the inu youkai clan; he couldn't forget his obligation to his family. He couldn't, she was a ningen. This couldn't be. Sesshomaru could not choose a ningen over his youkai family.

"No, this ningen has bewitched you. You will not choose her over your family. You cannot!" yelled Nori.

"That is my concern not yours. Now last chance Nori, leave or die," Sesshomaru's patience was wearing thin.

"No, I won't leave, I'll kill her, rid you of this spell of hers, and then if I must, I'll kill you as well cousin," Nori sneered, "a youkai who protects a ningen is no better than a hanyou, a lowly cur!"

Sesshomaru's eyes changed abruptly from golden to blood red, Rin gasped, she could feel the youki radiating from his skin, tingling against hers. His fangs grew larger; the markings on his face grew bolder, while his hair and clothing were whipped up into the air by the growing youki.

"Sesshomaru-sama," Rin whispered, she was still in the circle of his arms, looking at the man changing slowly into his demon form.

Sesshomaru had never changed in front of her before; she'd rarely seen him in his demon form, and only from a distance. He'd taken care to shield her from this side of him. He bit back the sudden knot of fear which jumped in his stomach. Would he scare her? Could she still care for him?

Rin was surprised by the sudden changes. She could see his body becoming more animal like, completely red eyes, he'd started growing fur, and his pointed ears were more obvious. Then he disappeared into a pink cloud and suddenly she was standing beneath a huge silver dog.

Her mouth fell open; his sheer size was terrifying. He was terrifying. A true demon. An animal; a hunter, a predator.

This was what he was though, she'd known this all along, she'd never seen it so openly though. She could feel her entire body shaking.

Sesshomaru looked at his shaking ward sadly. He should have known, demons and ningens couldn't be together. She could accept him in a ningen form, but in his true form, he scared her. Nori was right; he shouldn't throw his family away just for her. But he couldn't go back after taking this step, no matter how she felt.

Rin had not been able to stop staring at him, this was what he truly was, a wild creature; independent, strong, beautiful and completely perfect. He wasn't ningen, he never had been and he never could be, but he was still the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He was still the man she loved.

Rin sighed, it had probably been inevitable. It was time she accepted her feelings completely. Sesshomaru-sama had a similar effect on many onna; she'd seen the looks he got. It had only been a matter of time until she'd fallen in love with Sesshomaru-sama. He could never love her back, but that didn't matter at all, as long as he allowed her to follow him until she died.

She didn't know how much longer she had on this earth, but she would spend every second she had loving him. That way she would have no regrets about how she'd spent any of her time.

"Sesshomaru-sama," she whispered, the great dog inclined his head. She almost felt that she could see sadness in his eyes.

Jaken who watched from several meters away couldn't believe the scene before him. Sesshomaru-sama's eyes held a sadness he'd never seen before. He looked at Rin and at once understood. Rin had never feared their master, and now Sesshomaru-sama knew he'd lost her. This was the reason Sesshomaru-sama had hidden his true form from her; he'd been scared of how she'd see him. Of how she'd feel about him.

Rin could feel the distance opening up between them, he was a youkai, and she was a ningen. That could not be changed, but neither could her feelings. She could feel the despair welling up inside her and the tears running down her cheeks. Why did it have to be like this?

"So Sesshomaru, even though you chose to love a ningen, it seems she can not love all of you back," Nori laughed, he seemed to find amusement in Sesshomaru's pain.

Jaken looked at the youkai lord and the ningen onna. Why did it have to be like this? He could feel Sesshomaru-sama's anguish at Nori's words just as clearly as he could see Rin's tears. Sesshomaru-sama truly loved the ningen onna, she meant everything to him. Jaken had always had faith in Rin, he couldn't believe she feared Sesshomaru-sama just because he'd transformed in front of her. It looked like his faith had been misplaced; he sighed and wondered who exactly would be slain this night.

"Perhaps I was right-" Nori went on to say.

"Shut up!" Jaken stared at Rin amazed, she was never that bad mannered.

Rin was normally a gentle onna, but Nori had laughed at Sesshomaru, and more than that, she sensed Nori's words had hurt her lord greatly. That was one thing she would not, could not allow.

She turned to look at Nori, her eyes shone with tears, but also with anger, she no longer cared about rank or manners "Sesshomaru-sama is never a being that I could fear or hate," she said, she turned to look at Sesshomaru-sama "I love Sesshomaru-sama, I always will. Sesshomaru-sama is as beautiful and wonderful in my eyes in this form as in any other; I love him no matter what,"

She came a step closer to Sesshomaru-sama, talking more quietly "I do not care about how Sesshomaru-sama feels towards me, as long as I can follow him, I will be happy," she smiled beneath her tears, and even a ningen could tell that every single one of her words was true.

Nori was surprised, he stopped laughing. How could she be that honest? How could she be that loyal? She was ningen, only useful as food. He watched as she slowly moved towards his cousin.

"I am sorry Sesshomaru-sama. I did not mean to fall in love with you. I tried not to continue loving you, and to change my feelings, but I cannot do so. Please forgive me, tell me its okay to continue following you, please," the onna begged throwing herself onto the ground at Sesshomaru's feet.

The silver inu youkai lowered his muzzle, sniffing his ningen; he nudged her gently with his nose. She rose to her feet, puzzled. He kept his face low to the ground, near to her. She should have been scared of his fangs; they were thicker than her waist. He was taller than most of the forest's trees and much faster than any other big predator, she should have been scared of him.

Instead she her scent held a confusing mixture of emotions, sadness, happiness and too many others to decipher. He wished he'd used his nose before deciding so rashly that she could not be trusted, that she feared him. There was no trace of fear within her at all, only the warmth which ningens called love.

She reached out and ran her hand along his wet nose, then up, digging her fingers into his silver fur, "kirei," she whispered before throwing herself forward and pressing her body against his muzzle. It was the closest thing to a hug that she could manage when he was in this form.

Sesshomaru was stunned by the warmth of her body pressed against his face. He was stunned by her gesture, how could she accept him so utterly, so completely? He watched her, with great difficulty, the placement of his eyes did not allow for clear focusing on something so close to his face. She had her eyes closed, her arms wrapped around his muzzle. He could smell her so clearly in this form, she smelled of sun warmed flowers, river water, grilled fish, Jaken, Ah-Un and himself. He was in heaven.

He heard his cousin's growl, and he jerked his head away from Rin, she caught her balance and stopped herself from falling, just. A giant black inu glared at him from where his cousin had been standing. There was no avoiding this fight now. He looked at Rin, she had to get away from here. He nudged her gently towards the now conscious Jaken with his nose. He also gave Jaken the look. The toad would die if she was hurt, Jaken looked as scared as he should feel.

Rin moved a few steps, before turning back to look at him "Sesshomaru-sama," she said, and he nudged her again with his nose, cutting off any other words. She walked over towards Jaken without further complaint, but kept glancing back at him over her shoulder. When he was sure she was with Jaken, and therefore fairly safe, Sesshomaru finally favored his cousin with his full attention.

Nori growled, not a low sound, but a full on rumble of a really angry inu. His eyes were red, not just outside of the pupil, but the entire eye. He was really pissed off. It finally came to Sesshomaru just how futile avoiding a fight with Nori was, and somehow he knew that this fight would be to the death. If he lost then Rin and Jaken were dead too, he couldn't afford to lose. He was going to have to kill his cousin; the thought only bothered him a little.

He didn't bother growling a warning as he leapt at Nori. He saw the surprise in his cousin's eyes, and felt the grim pleasure in his mind at the prospect of gaining such an advantage as the first strike, perhaps even the only strike if he did it right.

Rin was terrified, Sesshomaru-sama and Nori-sama were fighting and she was sure that they were not holding anything back. They pounced, clawed, bit and viciously tore into each other. Both were bleeding, Sesshomaru-sama seemed to be bleeding less, if the puddles of blood he left behind were any indication. Nori-sama's black coat showed blood less clearly though, so it was impossible to tell.

In fact they moved around so fast that she could barely keep up, she just managed to follow the white and black blurs, but was sure she missed much. She wasn't the only one, Jaken and Ah-Un both looked as perplexed as she felt. Actually Jaken looked mainly worried, and she could understand why. Sesshomaru-sama rarely took so long in a fight, Nori-sama was obviously a difficult opponent, but he would win. He had to win. She couldn't bear to lose him now.

She watched feeling her heart jumping wildly in her chest each time she saw the silver shadow meet the black one. She had her hands clasped so tight in front of her that her fingers were white and she found herself frequently seeing white spots in front of her eyes until she remembered to breath. Even years afterwards these few minutes would still seem like centuries.

It was all over in one final crash. The black dog fell, his legs failing him; the silver dog cautiously watched his fallen opponent for a few seconds before slowly moving closer. The black dog's form was vaguely obscured for a few moments, and then he seemed to disappear.

Sesshomaru moved closer to Nori, his cousin had reverted from inu form to human form. He was seriously hurt, dying perhaps. Sesshomaru moved in for the kill. He lifted his paw, Nori's eyes met his. There was acceptance and sadness in them. Sesshomaru risked a glance back at Rin, Jaken and Ah-Un.

Rin's eyes shone in the moonlight, he didn't understand why there were tears in them. She wasn't hurt; he looked down at Nori and suddenly understood. She was crying for his cousin, he bit back the instinctive jealousy. He changed into his human form. If she wanted Nori to live, then Nori would live.

He knelt down next to his cousin, "promise me that you won't come back and neither will any other member of the inu clan and I will give you your life," he said, looking the other in the eye.

Nori chuckled and looked away, "being with a human for so long has corrupted you, such a weakness will be fatal in the end,"

Sesshomaru wondered if Nori talked of protecting a human or of sparing the lives of those who sought her death because she couldn't bear seeing them die. He remained silent.

Nori remained silent as well, he would obviously not promise, or say anything else. Sesshomaru gave a grim smile, some things would never change. Youkai pride and stubbornness were two things which Nori had in abundance.

He walked away from his cousin, over to Jaken, Ah-Un and Rin.

"Sesshomaru-sama, you're hurt," Jaken exclaimed, Sesshomaru glared at him, and the toad promptly shut up.

Rin walked over to him, "Sesshomaru-sama, are your injuries serious?" she asked. Her hands reached out to touch him; he allowed her hands to rest lightly on his chest, above the spikes on his armor, before they traveled up his face.

He shook his head, "Rin, I am going to return Nori to his home, but it is dangerous, so you, Ah-Un and Jaken must wait here," he said.

Rin looked like she would protest, so he put a finger on her lips, she swallowed nervously, "please wait here for me," he said.

Rin's eyes widened, Sesshomaru-sama never said please, not to anyone. He moved his finger off her lips and turned away walking over to Nori. She stood there for a second before dashing forward after him.

"Sesshomaru-sama, please," she stopped, uncertain as to how to tell him what she wanted, how she felt, what she needed him to know. He stopped walking and turned back to face her, "please," she continued, "promise me that you will return," she stuttered.

His face was gentle, "I promise," he said.

Rin found that her feet were still carrying her forward, until she was barely a step away from Sesshomaru-sama, "then I promise I will wait for you," she whispered. She went up onto the balls of her feet and pressed her mouth softly against his, kissing him carefully. His mouth was warm against hers; she could have stayed like that forever, but quickly drew away.

She risked looking him in the eye; she wasn't sure how he would feel about what she had just done. He was her guardian, he'd protected her since she was a child, but now she'd completely changed everything between them.

His eyes were warm, and for the first time she saw beyond the mask, he let her see beyond the mask. She saw something she'd never seen in him before, and she smiled when she recognised it. Love.

He pulled her close for a minute, pressing his lips to her forehead briefly, "I will return to you," he whispered.

Rin opened her eyes to find that both Sesshomaru-sama and Nori-sama had disappeared. She sighed, she was already lonely.

'Sesshomaru-sama, please return soon,' the last line of the song she'd created for him as a child echoed in her head.

Sesshomaru had been with his family for only a week, a very strained week at that. Bringing Nori back covered in blood and pronouncing doom for the next person to try to hunt his Rin down had definitely put a damper on family relationships.

His hahaue in particular had been very angry with him, but no one had been stupid enough to try to seek out Rin and kill her. He had effectively trapped himself by bringing Nori back. He had to stay until his family promised to leave Rin alone, Kami only knew how long that would take.

For one of the few times in his long life Sesshomaru was forced into inactivity and he was feeling impatient. It wasn't any wonder that family relationships had been strained, his temper had been far worse than usual.

"Sesshomaru, we need to talk," his hahaue was widely feared by many youkai, especially by his chichiue's and her own family. She had been spoiled as a child, and as an adult she had become the type of onna who would not settle for anything less than exactly what she wanted. She didn't want a ningen in her family, not after his chichiue's escapades and certainly not before. A hanyou, like his half brother was a disgrace for any youkai family.

"What about?" Sesshomaru asked an irrelevant question, he hoped it would annoy her and then she would go away. He didn't want to talk, he didn't want to hear his hahaue speak about the onna he loved with disdain or loathing, as if she was a lesser creature.

"That ningen onna," he could almost hear the venom in her voice, and he knew what Rin's fate would be if his hahaue ever met her.

"What of her? She is not your concern," Sesshomaru pointed out.

"Perhaps not, but you are my son, and the relationship between you and her is a concern. Especially if it means abandoning and betraying your family for her sake!" his hahaue raged.

"My family abandoned me first," argued Sesshomaru, "she however has followed me for ten years. She would never abandon me or betray me and she cares more for my happiness than she does for her own! So why is she any of your concern?"

His hahaue actually looked surprised, and she seemed to have no ready reply, she stared at him. He'd never seen her like this before.

"Rin is not Izayoi, and I am not my chichiue, even if I have chosen to love a ningen," Sesshomaru added.

He was surprised when his hahaue spoke quietly, "that is true, you are not your chichiue. I never expected you to follow in his footsteps though. I never thought you could love a ningen," she said, turning away, "very well then. Your ningen shall be safe from us all, we shall not harm her," her words were spoken in a tight voice.

He could just imagine the pain she felt, the memories his actions had sparked were the most humiliating and heartbreaking in her life. His chichiue had abandoned her for a mortal onna, and two hundred years later, she was still injured by those actions.

She continued on "however I shall visit. I wish to meet this onna,"

Sesshomaru was surprised. His hahaue's hatred for ningen, especially after Izayoi, was legendary. It seemed that she was willing to try to not hate Rin though, and that was enough. It was a start.

His hahaue walked away without her usual grace, slightly stiff. He watched her leave; and he knew how much it must have cost her to say what she had.

"Thank you," he said, she turned back and gave him a faint smile, before walking away.

"Be happy Sesshomaru," he heard her say.

He didn't need to stay any longer, once his hahaue promised to do something, it would be done. Being a spoiled aristocrat had its advantages, particularly because you learned never to settle for anything.

Rin smiled up at the bright crescent moon shining in the dark star scattered sky, it reminded her of Sesshomaru-sama. She'd been waiting with Jaken and Ah-Un for a week in the same spot. It wasn't a bad place, but it was rare that she spent such a long time in one place. It felt odd; and it was even odder not to have Sesshomaru-sama by her side.

The wind blew suddenly; Rin's long hair flew into her face temporarily blinding her. Her fingers tangled in her hair, pulling it out of her face. Her fingers stopped moving as she noticed a very familiar white creature at the edge of her vision.

She turned to face him, all of her hair troubles forgotten. He was still in his inu form, watching her gravely, and she felt warmth trickling down her cheek before she registered the fact that she was crying. She didn't even wipe the off moisture before she bolted towards him.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" she yelled, and didn't even notice that at her words Jaken and Ah-Un suddenly started out of their dozing states.

Rin drew near Sesshomaru-sama, who obligingly put his muzzle down to her level, and she cautiously stroked him. A sudden burst of pink youki clouds signaled that he'd turned into his ningen-like form, and Rin found herself in his arms.

"I missed you," she whispered, his arms held her gently, careful not to pull her too tightly against the spikes on his armor.

"And I missed you, very much," he said softly.

For just a moment, it seemed that time stopped. A love between a ningen onna and a youkai lord was a love between two worlds; some might say a doomed love. However at that moment neither of them cared about anything except each other and being together. That was what love was about, caring about each other and absolutely nothing else.

**Translation of Japanese words**

_Ano-_ well

_Chichiue-_ father (formal form)

_Hahaue-_ mother (formal form)

_Hai- _yes, ok

_Hanyou-_ half demon

_Hime- _princess

_Inu-_ dog

_Kami- _God

_Kirei- _beautiful

_Kitsune- _fox

_Ningen-_ human

_Onna- _woman

_Ouji-_ prince

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of very high respect.

_Youkai-_ demon

Additional info: the _moko-moko_ is the fluffy thing Sesshomaru wears over his shoulder, while the _gi _& _hakema_ are his pants and shirt.

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